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Monday, February 29, 2016

GOP has 11 of the 12 elected ag commissioners

There's been a changing of the guard among agriculture commissioners. Of the 12 states that elect such a position, 11 are held by Republicans, with eight of those states switching from Democrats since 2001, Louis Jacobson writes for Governing magazine. "Three states elected Republican agriculture commissioners prior to 2001—Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas. The eight that switched to the GOP between 2001 and 2011 were Florida (2001), Kentucky (2004), North Carolina (2005), Iowa (2007), Louisiana (2008), North Dakota (2009), Georgia (2011) and Alabama (2011)." Now the only elected Democrat is in West Virginia.

"In many states, the position carries significant authority," Jacobson writes. "In 40 states, according to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, agriculture departments oversee the animal industry; in about half of states, they oversee food safety and meat inspection. In 48 states, they determine what qualifies as 'organic,' while in 43 states they regulate pesticides."

"Interviews with political experts in these states suggest that the shift stemmed, in part, from rising Republican success at the ballot box," Jacobson writes. "Many of the states that elect their agriculture commissioners are solidly red. Over the past decade, growing Republican strength further down the ballot—combined with attrition among long-serving, conservative Democratic incumbents—has helped the GOP win lower state offices and increased opportunities for the types of rural Republicans who can seriously contest the position of agriculture commissioner."

"The GOP has also focused more attention on agriculture offices, partnering with the Republican Agriculture Commissioners Committee and Ag America, a group that works to elect qualified Republican candidates to the position," Jacobson writes. What's more, Democratic electoral and bench strength in these states is concentrated in cities and suburbs, where it’s hard to become a credible candidate for agriculture commissioner. Besides, rural voters feel they have more at stake in voting for agriculture commissioner than urban voters do."

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This blog generally follows traditional journalistic standards. It's not about opinions, though you may read one here occasionally. It's about facts that we think will be useful to rural journalists, non-rural journalists who do rural stories, and others interested in rural issues. We don't try to be provocative, so we don't generate as many comments as most blogs with the level of traffic we have, but we certainly invite comments -- and contributions, to al.cross@uky.edu. Feel free to republish blog items, with credit to us and the original source.